Trail Cameras

The need to get the last word in is strong here :)


IR. I have pics of doe. Three shot burst. In the dark. It seems like the cam spooked them. Dunno.
 
I have a question and a comment:!

Question: How far away can a camera detect motion enough to trip the shutter and get a decent picture?

Comment: This is not Bowsite or AT. If you want to argue, take it there. We are here to help each other out, not cut other members down!
 
I have seen it mentioned several times that game cams are toys or simply just a fun thing, but not very useful when it comes to hunting. I think the same way about spotting scopes and I imagine back country hunters think the same about 4 wheelers. It all depends on your hunting style and the manner in which you utilize the \"tools\" that exist today. For me, game cams have made an immense difference in my hunting success, and its not because cams allow me to be lazy when it comes to scouting...actually cams (among other reasons) have forced me to scout more often.

I probably wouldn\'t use a game cam on a hunt above treeline for sheep, that is where a spotting scope would be a really useful tool. But game cams for tree stand use at a natural gathering point for animals is a highly effective tool.
 
I think this is a good time to again discuss what we, the members here, are about on BTO. We want to have fun and be educational. We want the hunters, that frequent this forum, to achieve a higher quality hunt. We want you to find success if you are out elk hunting. Nothing is more discouraging than spending thousands of dollars and hard days out, and leaving with the feeling that elk hunting is just a matter of luck, and you were a victim again.
I appreciate good debate and clearing the air. Hunters have strong opinions and skills that they have developed. Some hunting skills are universal and some are adapted to our hunting style and area. For example, I have a lot of respect for cnelk. I believe that where Brad and I disagree on some lesser points on tree stand hunting, it is due to differences in the elk and terrain in our areas. It is also possible Brad is mistaken. :lol: We discuss our differences here so others can reason things out, and make a conscious decision.
Differences in opinion can be very valuable to discuss, and I encourage questions and discussions, as much as possible to clarify what we have personally experienced. Lets just remember to be respectful.
Also, it is always good to remember it is easy to be misunderstood on these forums. It is also ok to be wrong. I am a long ways from knowing everything about elk hunting. Ditto tree stand hunting. Just think, Brad could also be right.
 
\">>>---WW---->\" said:
I have a question and a comment:!

Question: How far away can a camera detect motion enough to trip the shutter and get a decent picture?

Comment: This is not Bowsite or AT. If you want to argue, take it there. We are here to help each other out, not cut other members down!
Click to expand...

Depends on the camera Bill. As with most things the more you spend the better camera you will get. Swede actually did some testing with the cheap Tascos I have. They advertised a 25ft range but knowing that is awfully short he did some testing and was getting triggering out to 45ish feet. Right Swede? Swede has a super nice Reconyx which probably will go twice that range. I haven\'t had any issues yet with distances. One thing I have found though...I have a bigger problem with elk messing with cameras than bears. I have had both push them around but have far more problems with the elk being curious with them. I would have thought the opposite. My buddy did have a bear snack on his camera once though. I put up boxes for my cameras to keep the animals from tearing them down. I have far more trouble with animals than people. This past year I got to a camera my buddy put up just by a strap. It was pushed 90 degrees away from the trail and into the brush from the tree. I thought at first it had to be a person screwing with it rather than stealing it since it was pushed very much away from the trail. The pictures showed a bull pushing it...on several different days he would come back to push it around. It was funny actually.
Jeremy, I actually do have a spot I found you could get awesome mountain goat pics above tree line if you want any. lol. They would be cool pics for sure. Not sure what you could tie the cam up to though. I know I have been quick to jump the gun judging people before ( happened with a guy that hunts where Swede and I do) and now I consider him a good friend. ;)
 
WW: Game cameras can detect motion at different distances. My experience suggests they reach significantly farther than what they are rated for on the display carton they come in. The display carton may be right when it comes to flash coverage, but in the day time you will get pictures much farther away.

Edit note: I did not see Oly\'s post above when I started this, but what he said is what I was basing my comment on.
 
See this branch in the top of the above pics?
That branch got its picture taken LOTS of times!!!!

 
I\'m guessing that coyote in CNELK\'s post is roughly 20 feet and again at 35 feet? Just a guess.

Here is a great link for those interested in reading reviews on all kinds of game cameras. They do a bunch of different tests on various cams new and old models and give perspective about flash vs. IR vs. Blackout

<!-- m --><a class=\"postlink\" href=\"http://www.chasingame.com/index.php?id=1\" onclick=\"window.open(this.href);return false;\">http://www.chasingame.com/index.php?id=1</a><!-- m -->
 
I think they are a great fun tool. If anything, the added inspiration from seeing pics of actual animals cannot be measured. Nice to know the land is not a barren wasteland.

I\'ve been scouting five times for hogs. I blame the cameras.
 
Narrow detection vs Wide detection. This is now a feature that I care about because of the game behind my tent in a wide area and another spot that may benefit from a wider detection.

I have 2 Moultrie 880 Low Glow 2013, not 2014. Do not buy Moultrie 800 2014, 2014 appears to have had issues. Amazon has both listed. I do not have the 880i version.

The Moultrie 880 2013 appears to be good camera, but it is not a wide enough detection field for at least one location I want to capture. It has a fast trigger. I did not have a ton of pictures, therefore, the batteries did very well with a 2 fast shot setting. I was careful about branches and small saplings.The 1st season, I used 1 fast shot setting. 2 fast shot setting is a better setting for this narrow detection camera.

I am new to trail cams. Only used them for 2 seasons so far. I am gravitating towards ambush hunting rather than cold calling and spot and stalk. That is, if I can cure myself of my habit of being a wandering soul. Therefore, I see trail cameras as a more important tool as I do more ambush style hunting. Time of day the elk are there is important. A trail camera may help answer that question. I did find elk other seasons before I had trail cameras.They are a tool to supplement my other tools and my on the ground scouting.

I found this site when trying to find cameras that would have a wider detection.
http://www.trailcampro.com/trailcamprostarrankings.aspx

There is also a selection guide which I used to find cameras with the features I wanted. Likely, their list is limited. If funds are available, I am considering a Browning Spec Ops XR for this special location behind my tent. It will only be setup there when I am camping.
http://www.trailcampro.com/trailcameraselectionguide.aspx

Opening week, I camped in one place for 10 days. My tent was 20-25 yards from the forest service road. Based on a hunch, not sign, I placed a trail camera 40-50 yards behind my tent which was within 80 yards of the road. I had deer on the camera everyday but the last day. I had elk the first 2 days. My bathroom area was within 30 yards of this area (I dig holes of course). There was fresh elk sign on the last day nearby. The elk clearly used this area as a travel corridor (nighttime around 9 pm and early mornings during legal hours pictures at 7:40 am). The cameras revealed that the deer used it both as a travel corridor and destination to forage in the mornings (6-7 am).

The area behind my tent lacks fresh sign because it is more exposed to the sun (dropping dry up fast) and the layer of pine needles and dryness prevent tracks to be laid down much.

BTW: My hunch to place a camera there was because the year before I had a lost cow sounding off behind my tent at 2 pm at the trailing end of an extremely violent thunderstorm. The lack of sign apparently throws people off for this spot. The terrain was a good indicator that the elk and deer prefer to travel through there from one drainage to another. People frequently camp there throughout the summer because the forest service road has very few suitable camping spots for a 10 mile stretch. The elk and deer appear to tolerate the campers.

Next year, I will get a deer tag for this area. At the very least, I can sit behind my tent and do am ambush on deer and may even have an elk wander by. The trail camera reaffirmed my hunch and told me the time of day and night that they are there.

I am not implying that this is normal...Elk and Deer frequenting an area where there is a lot of fresh human scent. In my hunting location, I have observed that the elk are traveling within 100 yards of the road following the contour paralleling the road because the hunters are elsewhere in the woods and it is an easy travel route from feeding to bedding areas. Hunters cannot see them while driving on the road.

I blew it for another spot half mile in. I knew the elk frequented the area. Multiple days during opening week, I saw fresh sign (flies on droppings). My August trail camera pictures nearby never had elk, therefore, I wasn\'t sure when they were there. I had a hunch they went through there to bedding based on a previous years\' sightings. Obviously, I choose poor locations for the trail cameras in this area. Those 2 cameras were wasted for 2 weeks in early August. Perhaps multiple cheaper cameras would help me more than having a couple expensive cameras.
 
I won\'t buy a cam that doesn\'t have a lock box. Not in my area.

And it is clear I don\'t know enough about memory cards. I have two. One my camera cannot read. I\'d like to swap cards and find a quiet spot to inert card into my camera for a quick peek. I recently thought my card was empty only to insert it into my home computer to look at my vacation photos only to find a bunch of pigs caught on the cam! What gives?
 
\"elky McElkerson\" said:
I won\'t buy a cam that doesn\'t have a lock box. Not in my area.

And it is clear I don\'t know enough about memory cards. I have two. One my camera cannot read. I\'d like to swap cards and find a quiet spot to inert card into my camera for a quick peek. I recently thought my card was empty only to insert it into my home computer to look at my vacation photos only to find a bunch of pigs caught on the cam! What gives?
Click to expand...

I\'m assuming you are using SD cards? Technology changes pretty fast and what likely has happened is your field camera (I\'m guessing is a small point and shoot camera) is a few years old and will only accept up to a certain memory size. For example....I have an old point and shoot camera I would use for viewing my SD cards in the field also. This camera will take a max sized SD card of 2 GB. I am commonly using SD cards up to 32 GB in size now and my field camera won\'t recognize them. You have to be careful as most trail cams also have a max capacity they will work with as well. I recently updated my field camera and it will work until the technology advances even further. I should say...the old stuff works still you just have to be careful not to use cards than exceed what they are compatible with. Hope that made sense.
 
Any time. I\'ve got into the habit of marking my trial cameras on the inside door as to what card capacity it is so I don\'t have any compatibility issues.
 
\"Olympushunt\" said:
Any time. I\'ve got into the habit of marking my trial cameras on the inside door as to what card capacity it is so I don\'t have any compatibility issues.
Click to expand...

Good Idea. I will have to do this to mine.
 
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